Reminder: Archbishop’s Catechetical Day
This enriching event is right around the corner, Monday, Sept. 19, 2022, from 9:00 a.m.-12:00 p.m.
The website has been updated with the agenda and content for the half day; click on the drop-down arrows on the site to see the content for each segment. Please share the website link (catecheticalday.org/) with your teachers and staff to have them register in advance.
Note that the half day will be split into four talks with 10 minutes built in after each talk for reflection. Principals may decide whether to allow staff to log in individually or watch together as a whole group/staff. If you choose to watch it together as a staff, please collect attendance. These 3 hours of formation count toward the 5-hour annual requirement to renew one's catechist certification.
Please contact Dr. Bluestein with any questions
New: School Safety Five-Minute Drill for September
September is National Preparedness Month. In the spirit of the month, listed below are some forms, links, and suggested activities for you and your staff. If you would like any of the forms listed below personalized, please contact Mike Evoy.
- Classroom First Aid Kit Checklist: Provided by the Michigan State Police Office of School Safety, this form provides a list of what should be in a classroom first aid kit.
- Classroom Safety Checklist: Provided by the Michigan State Police Office of School Safety, this checklist requires the classroom teachers to check that the classroom has all recommended items in place and that everything is functional. This form could be distributed prior to a faculty meeting and ask the staff to bring it to the next faculty meeting.
- National Preparedness Month curriculum: The U.S. government provides several resources for classroom teachers to use. The information is designed for personal and family emergency preparedness action steps.
- School Go Kits Checklist: Provided by the Michigan State Police Office of School Safety, this form provides detailed lists for instructional staff, non-instructional staff, and administrators on what should be in their “Go Kits”.
- Shut off Utilities: Multiple staff members, other than maintenance, should know how to turn off utilities in the school building. This would a fun field trip for those selected to learn
New: Accreditation Site Team Members Needed
If you would like to serve on a site team this year, please complete the Google form. Also, please share the link to form to any teachers who may like to serve on a team as well. Team members can receive 25 SCECHs after the completion of the visit. Principal chairs will create their site teams from these lists. They will contact you or the teachers as they are assembling teams.
Please contact Nancy Kuszczak at nkuszczak@livoniastmichael.org if you have any questions.
New: MANS Membership Dues 2022-2023
It is that time of year to collect the annual MANS membership dues. We have decided that it is time to end the paper forms and are asking everyone to fill out this Google form with their information, print it out, and mail it along with their dues payments. The deadline is December 1, 2022.
New: MANS Conference – November 2 to 4, 2022
The Michigan Association of Non-public Schools (MANS) is celebrating 50 years of service to Michigan’s nonpublic schools culminating with the MANS Education Conference and Expo in Lansing, Michigan. Please click here to visit the conference website and register to attend!
New: Jackson Lumen Christi to Join the CHSL in 2023-2024
The Catholic High School League (CHSL) executive athletic board has accepted a request from Lumen Christi Catholic High School to join the CHSL in all sports beginning with the 2023-24 school year. Please read the full announcement here.
New: 2022-2023 Out-of-School Time Grant Information
On July 20, 2022, P.A. 144 of 2022, Section 32n was signed into law with $24,500,000 budgeted to provide before-school, after-school, before-and-after-school or during the summer in-person programming to serve children in any of grades K to 12. The new legislation defines the eligible applicants, the type of programming, and the priorities that the Michigan Department of Education (MDE) must use in a competitive grant process to award the funds across the state.
To be eligible for a grant under this legislation, the applicant must meet, at a minimum, all of the following criteria:
- Be a tax-exempt community-based organization, an institution of higher education, a community or adult education program, a public library, a local government, or an intermediate district. MDE has confirmed that a nonpublic school can be considered a tax-exempt community-based organization (CBO).
- These programs must be used to support expanded learning opportunities, such as mentoring, leadership, community engagement, agriculture, art, music, literacy, science, technology, engineering, mathematics, health, and recreation programming.
- Provide educational programming in core subject areas, including, but not limited to, mathematics, reading, and science.
Additional information and requirements, including the Intent to Apply, can be found in the grant information document. The deadline for applying is 12:00 p.m. on October 6, 2022.
Updated: BOY Star Testing Guidelines
The BOY testing window has opened and will close October 7.
Star Testing Guidelines (Reminders): Which Star assessment(s) do my students need to take?
Recordings Available: FACTS PD for Principals & Teachers
The Administrator training is titled “Administrative Refresher Training Video” and the Teacher training is titled “Gradebook and Report Card Training Video”. Both will be found under the “Detroit Administrative Training” link on the main page.
Those videos are live in HubHelp now! Staff can navigate to HubHelp and search for “Archdiocese of Detroit” to navigate to those trainings, or follow this link and enter their username and password:
Recordings Available: Principal Institute w/Jodee Blanco — When Parents Bully the School-Rebuilding Relationships & the Trajectory Back to Normalcy
Many thanks to those who were able to attend the training w/Jodee Blanco. She will be sending a toolkit of resources as a follow-up and that will be shared with every principal once it is available.
If you are interested in adopting Jodee Blanco's SEL/Anti-Bullying curriculum, INJJA (It's Not Just Joking Around), please contact Dr. Bluestein as soon as possible. The more schools who are interested, the lower the cost will be per school. Jodee is also helpful and flexible in working with LEAs for title funding.
If you were unable to attend live, the recording is now available (passcode: T?Kx!jy2). In addition, we ask you to share your feedback by completing this brief survey, so we may learn how best to serve you and your PD needs in the future.
Updated Calculation and Check Request Form: Payments for Tuition Assistance Awards
Archdiocesan Tuition Assistance awards will be available for payment later this Fall. To request payment of your students’ awards, please complete the Tuition Assistance Calculation and Check Request form and return it no later than September 30 to tas@aod.org.
This form must be signed by the principal and returned with a copy of your school’s FACTS Tuition Assistance award report and any family award letters for students that have transferred to your school that do not appear on your FACTS report. If you have any questions, please contact tas@aod.org.
Catechist Certification Requirement
Please see the attached document which provides details, exceptions, and modifications for the Catechist Certification Requirement.
Seventh and Eighth Grade Directory
We are changing the way we have previously collected the seventh and eighth grade directories. The Department of Catholic Schools will be reaching out soon to collect the student contact information from the elementary schools. Once we have the updated directories compiled, we will be sharing those with the high schools. Recognizing that a Catholic school’s mission is to foster holiness and to serve as a center of evangelization and discipleship (Unleashing Our Catholic Schools, pg. 2), it is of paramount importance that Catholic elementary schools share their directory to ensure children have the best opportunity to matriculate at a Catholic high school.
Updated: Religion Assessment Information: Rosters, Training, & FAQs Rosters
Principals should have received an email with login credentials and details on how and where to upload class rosters.
- Each school will receive a link to their own SFTP site where they will upload their csv file.
- Schools using FACTS will be able to use the same Renaissance csv within FACTS.
- Schools not currently using FACTS will complete the manual csv.
- You do not need to create usernames or passwords. This will be done for you.
- All usernames and passwords will be delivered to you on your unique SFTP site the week of Sept. 26.
- Testing window is Oct. 3 – Oct. 21
- Grade 8 students will test once more in the spring: April 24,2022- May 12, 2022
Training
We have re-created the Administrator webinar so everyone can review it at their own time. It is also located in Flourish under the support tab. Zoom Recording | Passcode: &1PJLm!2.
We will share the Teacher webinar once it is available.
Deadline Extended: MANS 152b Application Due September 16
The 2021-22 application, for expenses you incurred doing school safety drills and other functions during the last school year, is now available and you can access it by logging into your MEGS+ account. Applications are due by September 16. Many of the items can be calculated quite quickly and will potentially result in thousands of dollars for your school. As we won the court battle, you will receive payment in a timely fashion.
MANS created a 152b worksheet to help schools determine the correct reimbursement amount to request, which can be found here. This document is for planning purposes only and may not accurately reflect final Michigan Department of Education regulations. Do not submit this with your application - retain for your own records.
Having trouble finding the 152b application in your MEGS+ account? Click here for detailed instructions on how to find the application.
For questions regarding specific reimbursement categories and calculations, contact Brian Broderick (MANS) or Paul Stankewitz (Michigan Catholic Conference) by email.
For technical questions, please contact nonpublicschools@michigan.gov.
Update: School Safety Plans
If you have not shared your school safety plan, please email it to Erin McNally (mcnally.erin@aod.org) ASAP.
Reminder: Roster Information for Renaissance
Schools utilizing the FACTS SIS will not need to create a manual .csv file for the Star Renaissance roster as in years past. Instead, simply follow the steps from FACTS, then skip to section “B” in the steps provided by Star to upload your roster to Renaissance.
Schools that are not currently using the FACTS SIS will need to follow all the instructions in the Star Self-Service Import document.
Reminder: Teacher PLCs
Dr. Bluestein will facilitate Teacher PLCs this year beginning in September. Six meetings are scheduled for the year and 25 SCECHs will be available for those who attend all six meetings. These meetings will not be recorded and full attendance at each meeting is necessary to earn SCECHs.
Please see the schedule below and share with teachers; the zoom link will be shared soon. All meetings will run from 4:15 p.m. to 5:15 p.m.
PK-2 (Tuesdays): September 27, October 25, November 15, January 17, February 21, March 28
Grades 3-5 (Wednesdays): September 28, October 26, November 16, January 18, February 22, March 29
Grades 6-8 (Thursdays): September 29, October 27, November 17, January 19, February 23, March 30
Upcoming MANS PD Opportunity
School Safety
If your school needs financial assistance to enhance safety and security measures at your school, please contact the Department of Catholic Schools. As a reminder, each school should work with local law enforcement officers to ensure that adequate safety plans are in place.
Newton Applicant Tracking System Job Posting and Closing Instructions
The Applicant Tracking System job posting, and approval process instructions can be found here. Please know that is the responsibility of the school to either remove the job or to reach out to Roberta Robson, (robsonmcglone.roberta@aod.org), or Erin Taft, (taft.erin@aod.org) to request removal of the position. Unfortunately, Paycor Recruiting does not offer the option of putting an end date on the job posting so unless HR is made aware that the job has been filled and should be removed, the job will remain posted. Please see these instructions for how to close your open position in the ATS.
Federal Programs and EANS Presentations from FACTS Education Solutions
Please see resources from Dr. Susan Abelein and Jeremy Beck of FACTS Education Solutions presentations below:
Jeremy Beck’s Presentation:
Dr. Abelein’s Presentations:
